2026 Chicago Bears season

2026 Chicago Bears season
OwnerGeorge McCaskey
General managerRyan Poles
Head coachBen Johnson
Home stadiumSoldier Field
Results
Record0–0
Uniform

The 2026 season will be the Chicago Bears' 107th in the National Football League (NFL), their fifth under the leadership of general manager Ryan Poles and their second under head coach Ben Johnson. The Bears will seek to improve upon their 11–6 record from the previous season and repeat as NFC North champions for the first time since 2005–2006.

Offseason

Roster changes

Free agents

Position Player Tag 2026 team Date signed Contract Source
C Ryan Bates UFA
SS Jaquan Brisker UFA Pittsburgh Steelers March 12, 2026 1 year, $5.5 million [1]
FS Kevin Byard UFA New England Patriots March 11, 2026 1 year, $9 million [2]
DT Andrew Billings UFA Arizona Cardinals March 16, 2026 1 year, $2.4 million [3]
LS Scott Daly UFA
WR Devin Duvernay UFA Arizona Cardinals March 15, 2026 1 year, $2.5 million [4]
FS C. J. Gardner-Johnson UFA Buffalo Bills March 12, 2026 1 year, $6 million [5]
SS Elijah Hicks UFA Chicago Bears March 12, 2026 [6]
RB Travis Homer UFA
MLB D'Marco Jackson UFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 2 year, $7.5 million [7]
LT Braxton Jones UFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 1 year, $10 million [8]
CB Jaylon Jones UFA Chicago Bears March 13, 2026 [9]
QB Case Keenum UFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 2 year, $5.5 million [10]
CB Nick McCloud UFA
SS Jonathan Owens UFA
MLB Jalen Reeves-Maybin UFA
DE Dominique Robinson UFA
TE Durham Smythe UFA
DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka UFA
DT Chris Williams UFA
CB Nahshon Wright UFA New York Jets March 11, 2026 1 year, $5.5 million [11]
WR Olamide Zaccheaus UFA Atlanta Falcons March 11, 2026 1 year, TBD [12]
DE Daniel Hardy RFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 2 year, $4.97 million [7]
G Jordan McFadden RFA Chicago Bears March 12, 2026 1 year, $1.3 million [13]
LT Theo Benedet ERFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 1 year, $1 million [14]
RFA: Restricted free agent, UFA: Unrestricted free agent, ERFA: Exclusive-rights free agent

Legend

 –  Light green background indicates a player has been re-signed by the Bears.
 –  Light red background indicates a player has departed the Bears.

Signings

Position Player Previous team Date signed Contract Source
S Coby Bryant Seattle Seahawks March 11, 2026 3 year, $40 million [15]
LB Devin Bush Cleveland Browns March 11, 2026 3 year, $30 million [15]
DT Neville Gallimore Indianapolis Colts March 11, 2026 2 year, $12 million [15]
WR Kalif Raymond Detroit Lions March 11, 2026 1 year, $5.1 million [15]
OT Jedrick Wills Cleveland Browns March 12, 2026 1 year, $1.2 million [15]
CB Cam Lewis Buffalo Bills March 13, 2026 2 year, $6 million [15]
DT Kentavius Street Atlanta Falcons March 13, 2026 [15]

Trades

Position Arrived From Date of trade Departed
WR2026 2nd-round pickBuffalo BillsMarch 11, 2026[16]D. J. Moore
2026 5th-round pick
C Garrett Bradbury New England Patriots March 11, 2026[17] 2027 5th-round pick

Reserve/future contracts

The Bears signed the following players to reserve/future contracts: Maurice Alexander (WR), Brittain Brown (RB), Stephen Carlson (TE), Luke Elkin (LS), Dallis Flowers (CB), Jonathan Garvin (DE), Dominique Hampton (OLB), Kyle Hergel (G), Qadir Ismail (TE), Nikola Kalinic (TE), Jamree Kromah (DE), Dontae Manning (CB), Jeremiah Martin (DE), Gervarrius Owens (S), JP Richardson (WR), and Nephi Sewell (OLB).

Draft

2026 Chicago Bears draft selections
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
125 Dillon ThienemanSOregon
257 Logan JonesCIowa
60 Traded to the Tennessee TitansFrom Bills[A]
3 69 Sam Roush TE Stanford From Titans
389 Zavion ThomasWRLSU
4125 Traded to the Kansas City Chiefs
124 Malik Muhammad CB Texas From Jaguars via Panthers
129 Traded to the Carolina PanthersFrom Rams
5 144 Traded to the Carolina PanthersFrom Titans via Rams and Titans
165 Traded to the Buffalo Bills
166 Keyshaun Elliott LB Arizona St.
6206 Traded to the Cleveland Browns[B]
213 Jordan van den BergDTGeorgia TechFrom Seahawks via Jaguars, Lions and Bills
7239 Traded to the Buffalo BillsFrom Eagles via Jaguars and Browns
241 Traded to the Buffalo Bills

Notes

  1. ↑ The Bears traded a fifth-round selection (165th overall) and WR D. J. Moore to Buffalo in exchange for a second-round selection (60th overall).[18]
  2. ↑ The Bears traded a sixth-round selection (209th overall) to Cleveland in exchange for a seventh-round pick (239th overall) and DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka.[19]
2026 Chicago Bears undrafted free agents
Name Position College Ref.
Caden Barnett OL Wyoming [20]
Coleman Bennett RB Kennesaw State
KC Eziomume DB Tulane
Beau Gardner LS Georgia
Kyron Hudson WR Penn State
Omari Kelly WR Michigan State
Jaren Kump OL Utah
Hayden Large TE Iowa
Jayden Loving DL Wake Forest
Wayne Matthews OLB Michigan State
Miller Moss QB Louisville
Mason Murphy OL Auburn
Gabriel Plascencia PK San Diego State
Skyler Thomas DB Oregon State
Squirrel White WR Florida State

Staff

Chicago Bears staff
Front office
  • Chairman – George McCaskey
  • President/CEO – Kevin Warren
  • General manager – Ryan Poles
  • Assistant general manager – Jeff King
  • Vice president of football administration – Matt Feinstein
  • Senior director of player personnel – Trey Koziol
  • Director of player personnel – Breck Ackley
  • Assistant director of college scouting – Francis St. Paul
  • Director of pro scouting – DJ Hord
  • Football administration and analytics manager – Andrea Wright
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
  
Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator – Dennis Allen
  • Defensive line – Jeremy Garrett
  • Linebackers – Richard Smith
  • Assistant linebackers – Kevin Koch
  • Defensive backs/passing game coordinator – Al Harris
  • Assistant defensive backs/safeties – Matt Giordano
  • Senior defensive assistant – Bill Johnson
  • Defensive assistant/nickels – Cannon Matthews
  • Defensive quality control – Kenny Norton III
Special teams coaches
Coaching administration
  • Senior director of coaching operations – Justin Rudd
  • Manager of coaching administration – Chavis Cook
  • Director of research and analysis – Harrison Freid
Strength and conditioning
  • Head strength and conditioning – Pierre Ngo
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Allison Haley
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Noble Landry
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Reshard Langford
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Mark Philippi

→ Coaching staff
→ Front office
→ More NFL staffs

Current roster

Chicago Bears roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

 Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

 Reserve

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 15 Cleveland Browns W 34–10 1–0 Soldier Field Recap
2 August 22 at Cincinnati Bengals L 9–27 1–1 Paycor Stadium Recap
3 August 29 at Tennessee Titans W 24–15 2–1 Nissan Stadium Recap

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Time (CT) Opponent Result Record Venue Network Recap
1 September 13 12:00 p.m. at Carolina Panthers Bank of America Stadium Fox
2 September 20 12:00 p.m. Minnesota Vikings Soldier Field Fox
3 September 28 7:15 p.m. Philadelphia Eagles Soldier Field ESPN/ABC
4 October 4 12:00 p.m. New York Jets Soldier Field Fox
5 October 11 3:25 p.m. at Green Bay Packers Lambeau Field Fox
6 October 18 12:00 p.m. at Atlanta Falcons Mercedes-Benz Stadium Fox
7 October 22 7:15 p.m. New England Patriots Soldier Field Prime Video
8 November 2 7:15 p.m. at Seattle Seahawks Lumen Field ESPN
9 November 8 7:20 p.m. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Soldier Field NBC
10 Bye
11 November 22 12:00 p.m. New Orleans Saints Soldier Field Fox
12 November 26 12:00 p.m. at Detroit Lions Ford Field CBS
13 December 6 12:00 p.m. Jacksonville Jaguars Soldier Field Fox
14 December 13 12:00 p.m. at Miami Dolphins Hard Rock Stadium CBS
15 December 19 7:20 p.m. at Buffalo Bills Highmark Stadium CBS
16 December 25 12:00 p.m. Green Bay Packers Soldier Field Netflix
17 January 3 3:25 p.m. Detroit Lions Soldier Field Fox
18 January 9/10 TBD at Minnesota Vikings U.S. Bank Stadium TBD

Notes

  • Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
  • Networks and times from Weeks 5–17 and dates from Weeks 12–17 are subject to change as a result of flexible scheduling; games in Weeks 7, 8, 12, 15 and 16 are exempt.[21]
  • The date, time and network for Week 18 will be finalized at the end of Week 17.[21]

Game summaries

Week 1: at Carolina Panthers

Week 1: Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bears 0 0 000
Panthers 0 0 000

at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

Standings

Division

NFC North
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Chicago Bears 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
Detroit Lions 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
Green Bay Packers 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
Minnesota Vikings 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0

Conference

NFC
Seed Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division leaders
1 Arizona Cardinals West 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
2 Atlanta Falcons South 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
3 Chicago Bears North 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
4 Dallas Cowboys East 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
Wild cards
5 Carolina Panthers South 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
6 Detroit Lions North 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
7 Green Bay Packers North 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
In the hunt
8 Los Angeles Rams West 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
9 Minnesota Vikings North 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
10 New Orleans Saints South 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
11 New York Giants East 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
12 Philadelphia Eagles East 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
13 San Francisco 49ers West 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
14 Seattle Seahawks West 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
15 Tampa Bay Buccaneers South 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0
16 Washington Commanders East 0 0 0 – 0–0 0–0 0 0

References

  1. ↑ Cronin, Courtney (March 12, 2026). "Free agent Jaquan Brisker reaches deal with Steelers". ESPN. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  2. ↑ Finley, Patrick (March 11, 2026). "Safety Kevin Byard's departure leaves Bears with leadership, production void". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  3. ↑ Balzer, Howard (March 20, 2026). "Andrew Billings salary, contract details, cap hit with Arizona Cardinals". Cardswire. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Hoping For Many Happy Returns: Devin Duvernay Reportedly On Way". www.azcardinals.com. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  5. ↑ Alaina Getzenberg (March 12, 2026). "Veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson signs with Bills". ESPN. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Chicago Bears announce five re-signings". www.chicagobears.com. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  7. 1 2 Noble, Kole (March 9, 2026). "Ryan Poles and the Bears reach some last minute deals to prevent pending free agents from hitting the open market". Atozsports. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  8. ↑ Espn (March 9, 2026). "Source: Braxton Jones, Bears reach 1-year deal worth up to $10M". ESPN. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  9. ↑ Jr, Lester A. Wiltfong (March 14, 2026). "Report: Chicago Bears re-sign Jaylon Jones". Windy City Gridiron. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  10. ↑ Sugrue, Brendan. "Bears re-sign QB Case Keenum to 2-year deal". Bears Wire. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Jets add corner Nahshon Wright to revamped defense on one-year deal". March 11, 2026. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  12. ↑ Neveau, James (March 9, 2026). "Bears wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus reportedly heading to Falcons". NBC Chicago. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  13. ↑ Jr, Lester A. Wiltfong (March 12, 2026). "Chicago Bears re-sign Jordan McFadden". Windy City Gridiron. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  14. ↑ Jr, Lester A. Wiltfong (February 5, 2026). "Chicago Bears re-sign Theo Benedet". Windy City Gridiron. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Courtney Cronin (March 11, 2026). "Bears 2026 free agency tracker: Offseason moves, signings". ESPN. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  16. ↑ White, Alec (March 11, 2026). "Buffalo Bills officially acquire wide receiver DJ Moore from Bears via trade". Buffalo Bills.
  17. ↑ "Chicago Bears acquire OL Garrett Bradbury and second-round pick via trades". www.chicagobears.com. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  18. ↑ White, Alec (March 11, 2026). "Buffalo Bills officially acquire wide receiver DJ Moore from Bears via trade". Buffalo Bills.
  19. ↑ "NFL news roundup: Bears acquiring DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka in trade with Browns". NFL.com. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  20. ↑ Mayer, Larry (May 8, 2026). "Roster Moves: Chicago Bears sign four draft selections, 13 undrafted free agents". ChicagoBears.com. Chicago Bears. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  21. 1 2 "2026 Flexible Scheduling Procedures and Scheduling for Week 18". NFL. May 14, 2026. Retrieved May 14, 2026.

Notes

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